Handelsblatt said in a report due to be published on Monday, citing financial sources, that the bids were in the high three-digit million euro range, below the 1 billion euro ($1.3 billion) level Outokumpu had in mind.

A decision will be made soon on selection of a short-list of candidates, it said.

VDM is part of stainless steel producer Inoxum, which German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp sold to Outukumpu last year.

In May this year, Outokumpu said it might sell VDM, indicating it was struggling to turn a profit from its acquisition of Inoxum.